1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wrapping device for wrapping objects in foil material. In particular, the invention relates to a wrapping device for wrapping bales of crop material after a bale has been formed in a baling device. The baling device and wrapping device may be integrated in a single agricultural unit or be provided as two separate agricultural systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
Wrapping devices for wrapping a bale in foil material are for instance disclosed in WO00/36903, EP 1285571, DE4404225 and EP 1 502 495, which documents are each hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.
An embodiment of a known wrapping device comprises a frame, a wrapping table mounted on the frame and configured to support the object during wrapping, one or more movable roll support devices to support one or more rolls of foil material to be rotated about the object during wrapping, a carrying structure mounted on the frame and configured to carry the one or more roll support devices, and a clamping and cutting device.
The clamping and cutting device is provided to clamp the foil material after wrapping of an object to facilitate the cutting of the foil material, and to cut the clamped foil material, so that the wrapped bale is no longer connected to the rolls of foil material. The clamping and cutting device usually comprises a catch element to catch the foil in order to make the clamping of the foil possible. This catch element may be brought in the trajectory of the foil material during wrapping in order to catch the foil and clamp it at a cutting location. In this cutting location, the foil is cut between the bale and the respective roll of foil material, so that the wrapped bale is no longer connected to the roll of foil material.
The clamped end of the band of foil connected to the roll of foil material is held in the clamping and cutting device after cutting until the wrapping of a new bale is started. When the foil is rotated at least one time about the bale, the clamped end in the clamping and cutting device may be released as the first windings of foil may hold the end of the band of foil.
Such clamping and cutting device must be placed at the end of the wrapping process at least partially in the trajectory to catch the foil, while at the beginning of the process it must be placed outside the trajectory as the one or more roll support devices must be rotated at least once about the bale before the clamped end of the band of foil may be released.
At the same time little space is available in the known wrapping device to place a clamping and cutting device, in particular at a location in which the catch element can easily be moved into and out of the trajectory of the wrapping material during wrapping. As a result, many known clamping and cutting devices of wrapping devices have a complex construction. Multiple movements, rotations and translations, have to be performed to catch and clamp the foil, and multiple hydraulic cylinders are required to perform these actions. Furthermore, the time required performing the catching and clamping is relatively long.